1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to sensors. More specifically, the invention relates to wireless temperature and pressure sensors.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a mold. Generally, the process of injecting molding takes a material for the part being made and feeds the molten or melted material into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity.
During an injection molding process it is important to monitor the processing conditions to ensure the integrity of the parts being made. Temperature and pressure are processing conditions that are particularly important to the injection molding process. Traditional temperature detectors and pressure sensors rely on wired communication to transmit information regarding these parameters. In an injection molding environment, and other environments, the placement of these traditional sensors in or near a mold cavity can be difficult since it can be difficult to run wires through the molds or into the mold cavity to connect with the sensors.
While wireless sensors appear to solve the problem of running wires through the injection molding equipment, transmission of signals through injection molding equipment is difficult, since most molds are formed from a metal, which creates a shielding environment for the radio waves necessary to establish communication to the embedded sensors.
It is therefore desirable to have a sensor that overcomes these difficulties of the prior art sensors.